Terry Branstad, the humble Iowa governor whose sole piece of political flash is his Tom Selleck-size mustache, is about to whip the historical footnotes off a Revolutionary War hero.
Branstad will become the longest-serving governor in U.S. history on Monday, besting a record that has stood since 1804.
It is a record Branstad and others expect will last for some time to come.
Branstad also appears to like the idea that he is beating a record set by one of the nation’s Founding Fathers, a member of the Continental Congress who was called up for military service in the summer of 1776 and missed signing the Declaration of Independence.
Brig. General George Clinton presided over New York for 21 years. He was a good friend of the nation’s first president, George Washington, and he helped to organize the defense of New York during the Revolutionary War. He also served as vice president for two different presidents: James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
“It will be a formidable record,” Branstad said. “The saying is that records are made to be broken, but there are only 13 states without term limits, and you have to live in one of those to have a chance.”
And — who knows? — Branstad could even run for a seventh term in 2018, putting his record even more out of reach.
And things haven’t always been great for Branstad.
When he took office the first time, Branstad immediately had to deal with the financial crisis that had hit the Farm Belt. There were stories of farmers committing suicide and rural neighbors banding together to protest a farm being auctioned off to pay the bank loans.
As a former farmer himself, Branstad understood the pain rippling through the agriculture industry, said Tim Albrecht, his former communications director, who now works in the private sector.
“During the farm crisis, he wasn’t telling farmers what they wanted to hear,” Albrecht said. “He shared their pain, their grief, their sorrow.”
Albrecht believes Branstad’s ability to lead Iowa during those dark days and his commitment to diversifying Iowa’s economy may be his greatest achievements.
Branstad has made a name for himself as a solidly pro-business governor, more interested in luring businesses into Iowa and creating jobs than serving up political red meat and crossing partisan swords.
He’s the guy who helped bring Facebook to Altoona and Google to Council Bluffs.
He’s made income growth a priority and bringing high-paying jobs to Iowa," Albrecht said.
The question now is whether Branstad may be the last of a dying political breed: a governor more interested in stoking the economy than engaging in partisan squabbles. A guy who wears well with voters across the political spectrum, including independents.
In this day of hyperpartisanship, Branstad stands out as a rarity, said Robinson, the former GOP political director who now is editor of an online magazine called the Iowa Republican.
He is the type of governor who isn’t beholden to his base — and doesn’t have to be, because his standing with Iowans is solid, Robinson said. In fact, some Republicans have privately grumbled about what they perceive as a lack of commitment from Branstad to their core issues. There have been no sweeping tax reform bills passed, Robinson said, and there have been no significant anti-abortion bills passed on his watch.
“I don’t know of another politician with Branstad’s approach to government who could be elected out of the gate — a kind of pragmatic politician who is going to do what’s best for the state and not what political parties want,” Robinson said.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever see another Iowa politician with the real focus that he has on governing.”
Branstad will become the longest-serving governor in U.S. history on Monday, besting a record that has stood since 1804.
It is a record Branstad and others expect will last for some time to come.
Branstad also appears to like the idea that he is beating a record set by one of the nation’s Founding Fathers, a member of the Continental Congress who was called up for military service in the summer of 1776 and missed signing the Declaration of Independence.
Brig. General George Clinton presided over New York for 21 years. He was a good friend of the nation’s first president, George Washington, and he helped to organize the defense of New York during the Revolutionary War. He also served as vice president for two different presidents: James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
“It will be a formidable record,” Branstad said. “The saying is that records are made to be broken, but there are only 13 states without term limits, and you have to live in one of those to have a chance.”
And — who knows? — Branstad could even run for a seventh term in 2018, putting his record even more out of reach.
And things haven’t always been great for Branstad.
When he took office the first time, Branstad immediately had to deal with the financial crisis that had hit the Farm Belt. There were stories of farmers committing suicide and rural neighbors banding together to protest a farm being auctioned off to pay the bank loans.
As a former farmer himself, Branstad understood the pain rippling through the agriculture industry, said Tim Albrecht, his former communications director, who now works in the private sector.
“During the farm crisis, he wasn’t telling farmers what they wanted to hear,” Albrecht said. “He shared their pain, their grief, their sorrow.”
Albrecht believes Branstad’s ability to lead Iowa during those dark days and his commitment to diversifying Iowa’s economy may be his greatest achievements.
Branstad has made a name for himself as a solidly pro-business governor, more interested in luring businesses into Iowa and creating jobs than serving up political red meat and crossing partisan swords.
He’s the guy who helped bring Facebook to Altoona and Google to Council Bluffs.
He’s made income growth a priority and bringing high-paying jobs to Iowa," Albrecht said.
The question now is whether Branstad may be the last of a dying political breed: a governor more interested in stoking the economy than engaging in partisan squabbles. A guy who wears well with voters across the political spectrum, including independents.
In this day of hyperpartisanship, Branstad stands out as a rarity, said Robinson, the former GOP political director who now is editor of an online magazine called the Iowa Republican.
He is the type of governor who isn’t beholden to his base — and doesn’t have to be, because his standing with Iowans is solid, Robinson said. In fact, some Republicans have privately grumbled about what they perceive as a lack of commitment from Branstad to their core issues. There have been no sweeping tax reform bills passed, Robinson said, and there have been no significant anti-abortion bills passed on his watch.
“I don’t know of another politician with Branstad’s approach to government who could be elected out of the gate — a kind of pragmatic politician who is going to do what’s best for the state and not what political parties want,” Robinson said.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever see another Iowa politician with the real focus that he has on governing.”
